Untold Secrets, Untold Sorcery
by Lyndotia
Summary: When Lyn drags Reneey video game shopping in Philadelphia pawn shops, she doesn't expect anything unusual to happen. Until, after staring at a photo of Balamb Garden for too long, they realize they're actually standing in front of it...
1. Magic Super Glue?

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N: Wheee! Final Fantasy 8 this time! XD Yes, we're insane, we know. But don't pretend you don't love it! … Or hate it… This is an insert-characters-into-fic story so you're forewarned and can now make that disgusted snort and leave if you want.

… So did you leave? Or are you still reading so you can flame and give me ammo for my flamethrower?

… What? I'm a pyro! Not my fault!

Reneey: Uh, Lyn, the story…?

Lyn: Oh, yeah, that… RnR, peoples!

---

**1. – Magic Super Glue?**

"Ugh, don't you have any good used game stores around here?" 17-year-old Lyn Elumo complained as she and her best friend, 15-year-old Reneey Umbra, searched a few less-than-reputable pawn shops in Philadelphia.

Reneey shrugged. "People in the north don't really like to buy used things. We'd rather buy our stuff new and show it off cuz then that means we have money."

Lyn rolled her eyes. "Always knew there was something screwed up in the head about Yankees," she joked, shoving her friend in the shoulder.

"Hey! That was mean!" Reneey pouted. "If you're gonna be a jerk, why don't you just go back to Tennessee?"

"Yeah, okay," Lyn agreed, bowing her head and pretending to be ashamed before turning around and starting to walk the other way.

"Hey!" Reneey started to panic. "I was just kidding!"

Lyn looked over her shoulder and grinned crookedly. "I know."

It took Reneey a second and then she hit Lyn in the shoulder this time. "Lynni! That was really, really cruel!"

Lyn snickered. "What was that? Did you just throw a pillow at me?"

"… Shut up," Reneey muttered.

"I keep offering to teach you how to throw a proper punch, you know…"

"I said no! Just shut up and try that store," Reneey grumbled, pointing.

Lyn rolled her eyes. "Whatever. C'mon, let's go…"

Five minutes later, Lyn yelled, "Holy crap!" and shoved a teenage boy out of the way to pounce on a display of original PlayStation games. There between Final Fantasy VII and The Legend of Dragoon was…

"Final Fantasy 8!" Lyn declared, holding the game above her head victoriously.

Reneey blinked at it. "That's what we're looking for? Don't you already have that?"

"Well, yeah, but my dingbat of a cousin stole the first disc and lost it," Lyn said with a sigh. "It was sad." She immediately brightened and declared, "But now I have found it again! And now I can force you to play it!"

Reneey groaned. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you did that?"

Lyn blinked. "Actually, no. But whatever! Off we go to the cash register!"

(A/N: If you've read any of my other fics, you'll get that this is actually a joke referencing another fanfic we're writing where Reneey and I wind up in Final Fantasy 7.)

"So what's so great about this game, anyway?" Reneey wondered as they walked out of the store with it. "Besides that it has a hot guy on the front?"

"Squall?" Lyn wondered, pulling the game out of the bag to look at it. "Yeah, he's pretty hot. I think it's the scar."

"Scars are hot," Reneey agreed. "Like Ruroni Kenshin or something."

"It's kind of a wonder he didn't get his head blown off when he got that scar, actually," Lyn commented. "Or that he didn't blow off the head of the guy who did it. I probably would've if I'd just been standing there holding a gunblade and somebody had just tried to slice my face off."

"Gun…blade?" Reneey repeated.

"Yeah – this weapon here," Lyn said, pointing. "His archrival has one, too. It's not as cool-looking, though."

"So who else is hot in this game?"

"Um, here, let me show you the main characters," Lyn said, opening the case and pulling out the mini instruction book. "That's Squall, obviously, and that's Laguna –"

"Ooh, he's hot!"

Lyn twitched. "He's like 40 or something, Reneey."

Reneey pouted. "Well, he's still hot…"

Lyn rolled her eyes and turned the page. "Whatever. Anyway, this is Seifer, the other guy with the gunblade."

"He has a scar, too! … He needs a better haircut, though…"

"And this is Rinoa, the girl Squall eventually falls for," Lyn went on as if Reneey hadn't interrupted. "And Quistis…"

"Ooh, she has a whip!" Reneey squealed.

Lyn moved her pointing finger to the next page. "And Selphie…"

"… Wow… What happened to her hair?"

"I actually had a friend who had hair exactly like that once," Lyn broke the stride of her explanations to say. "Maybe not quite as gravity-defying but pretty freaking close. Anyway, that's Zell –"

"Awesome tattoo," Reneey observed. "… He needs new clothes, though. '90s skater dude is so out."

"He pretty much _is_ a skater dude," Lyn said with a snicker. "And this game is from the '90s. Anyway, last one! This is Irvine."

Reneey's eyes narrowed. "You like him, don't you?"

Lyn blinked. "Why would you ask that?"

Reneey snickered. "Because he looks like a cowboy which is a Southern thing and he has a trenchcoat! Like half of the anime guys you like have trenchcoats! Seto, Toshiro, Amon, Gambit…"

"Gambit's a comic book character and this is a video game, not an anime," Lyn said, rolling her eyes and turning the page. "And this would be Garden. Weird look for a military school, isn't it?"

"That's a building?" Reneey asked, blinking. "It looks like a flying saucer."

Lyn grinned. "It does kind of become something like that later."

"And why the hell does it say 'side 0' on it?"

"Side zero?" Lyn repeated, blinking.

"Yeah, right there!" Reneey said, pointing.

"I dunno… Maybe it's some kind of bulls-eye for the missiles they shoot at it later."

"… Uh… Lynni?"

"Yeah?"

"… Why is it getting bigger?"

Lyn would have given her friend a weird look if she had been able to tear her eyes away from the booklet in her hands but as it was she found that quite impossible. She tried to move her hands, too, but the nerves didn't seem to be responding. "… Can you move…?"

"No," Reneey said, trying her hardest to lift her arm. "It's like my finger's super-glued to the circle thingy!"

"Maybe somebody electrocuted us or something and our muscles are seized," Lyn joked. "All except our mouths, because the muscles there are too strong or something."

"Maybe mine," Reneey said with a fake laugh that was somewhat higher pitched than usual. "You don't talk enough for that."

"So think we're just gonna be frozen here until we die?" Lyn mused.

"I dunno, you're the Final Fantasy expert."

"What does that have to do with us being frozen in the middle of the sidewalk in Philadelphia? This is your turf, not mine."

"I dunno, maybe because the picture's moving."

As she returned her attention to the picture in front of her eyes, Lyn blinked. Then she realized that she could move again. THEN she realized that it wasn't a picture anymore and it was moving because two guards were walking toward them.

"You two, why are you not wearing your uniforms? You know we'll have to report this because it's during school hours. Who are your instructors? What are your student ID numbers?"

"Our wha?" Reneey asked, blinking.

"Uh… I… don't remember?" Lyn guessed, still kind of in shock.

"Of course you don't," the guards said, rolling their eyes. "Come on – we're taking you to the disciplinary committee. Maybe you'll tell _them_."

Reneey blinked and looked over at Lyn as the guards escorted them through the gates and to an elevator. "… What's a disciplinary committee? Is that something like detention?"

"Be quiet!" the guards scolded in unison. Then the elevator doors opened, they all got out, and one of the guards ran into a classroom only to return with Seifer, Raijin and Fujin.

"What's goin' on, y'know?" Raijin asked, looking confused. Seifer, however, seemed to catch on more quickly.

"You two – what are you doing out of your uniforms and out of your classes?"

Reneey blinked and muttered, "No, definitely not like a detention…"


	2. Into the Garden

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N:

---

**2. – Into the Garden**

"Answer the question," Seifer sneered.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Lyn said with a sigh. "So why the heck should I waste my breath?"

"Because if you don't, you'll be reported to the headmaster," Seifer growled.

Lyn considered that. "Cid… He _might_ believe us…"

"What was that?" Seifer asked, raising his eyebrows as he hadn't heard what Lyn had muttered.

_If I say I want to see Cid, he'll think of something else to threaten me with… Acting scared won't work either because then he'll expect me to talk…_

"Uh… Lynni?" Reneey asked uncertainly.

Lyn looked up from her reverie and smirked at Seifer. "Nice try but I know you disciplinary committee fools are powerless bullies. Like you even have the authority to get in to see the headmaster!"

… _Well… either this will make them take me to Cid… or they'll kill us. Guess a 50/50 chance is better than none._

Seifer snarled and reached for his gunblade but Fujin grabbed his arm and shook her head saying simply, "SHOW."

"Yeah," Seifer said, sneering at Lyn. "Yeah, let's just show these little girls how we don't have the authority."

Reneey hissed at being called a little girl but Seifer turned to Raijin. "Go get the key from the instructor. Tell her we have a couple of girls out here who won't report their student ID numbers or give us the name of their instructor."

Raijin disappeared and came back a few moments later, saying, "She was pretty pissed off about it, y'know… Getting her class interrupted twice in one day over some girls, y'know?"

Seifer just smirked and let that proclamation stand for itself as he took the key. "Alright, everybody into the elevator."

---

"Lynni," Reneey half whispered and half whined as the elevator clanged to a stop on the third floor. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Just trust me," Lyn muttered just loud enough for Reneey to hear. "I'm on it." _… Hopefully…_

This seemed to convince Reneey though and as they walked through the double doors into Cid's office, she looked less worried but still just as confused.

"Headmaster," Seifer said, trying to reign in his obvious distaste for Lyn and Reneey but not quite succeeding. "These girls were found outside the Garden gates and refuse to give their student ID numbers or an instructor's name."

"Sir, that's because we're not students here," Lyn said quickly, taking on a more respectful tone now that she was addressing an actual authority figure.

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Right, you just both have GFs for no reason? Found them in the woods, did you?"

"GFs?" Lyn repeated, looking actually shocked for the first time. "What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the fact that you each have a guardian force with you," Cid said calmly. "I can't tell the identity of these beings, of course, until they are summoned, otherwise it would be easier to tell your identities…"

"Look, I have no idea why you think we have GFs but _we're not your students_," Lyn repeated emphatically before shooting a glance at the disciplinary committee. "Sir, if I could just talk to you in private I would have no problem with explaining –"

"So you can attempt to assassinate the headmaster?" Seifer snarled.

Lyn rolled her eyes. "Look, bud, if I was gonna assassinate anybody it would be you and your smart mouth."

Seifer growled but Lyn turned back to Cid. "Maybe you would believe me if I said I know the identity of your wife…?"

Cid took a step back in surprise. "Are you two from the ship?"

Lyn shook her head. "No, sir, but you have to realize I mean no harm if I haven't told anyone. I just want a chance to explain."

Cid nodded slowly. "I see. Seifer, Raijin, Fujin, please –"

"Headmaster!" Seifer objected. "What if she's lying?!"

"Take Reneey with you," Lyn suggested. "If I kill him, you can kill her, deal?"

"What?!" Reneey objected.

Lyn rolled her eyes. "I'm not killing anybody! And they won't hurt you either if they know what's good for them. Just an insurance policy."

Seifer shrugged and grabbed Reneey's arm. "Alright. Come on, little girl."

Reneey growled and kicked him in the shin as he dragged her out of the office, flanked by Raijin and Fujin. "I am not a little girl!"

"So," Cid said, taking up a tone of interest. "What is this all about?"

Lyn sighed heavily. "You might wanna sit down; this is gonna be a really long story…"

---

"Would you let go of my arm?" Reneey complained as she waited outside Cid's office with the disciplinary committee.

"Not a chance," Seifer said firmly. "Just because we haven't heard anything doesn't necessarily mean nothing's wrong. I'm not letting you go until we know for a fact the headmaster is unharmed."

"But it's been hours!" Reneey complained.

"More like half an hour, y'know?" Raijin corrected.

Reneey groaned. "That's forever! And he's cutting off the circulation to my arm!"

"Y'know, if you kill my friend, I'm gonna kill you, not the headmaster," Lyn said as she pushed the doors open and walked out.

For once, Seifer ignored the direct threat and looked at Cid, who was right behind her. "Headmaster?"

"Let Reneey go, Seifer," Cid said pleasantly, putting a hand on Lyn's shoulder even though she was actually a few inches taller than him. "She and Lyn are going to be joining us here at Garden."

"Wh – what?!" Seifer demanded. "But they can't be under the age limit to begin training!"

"Lyn has previous training in combat and is quite certain that Reneey will catch on quickly. Besides, they're both orphans and on this continent there is really nowhere else for them to go."

"But –"

"Stop objecting and follow orders, Seifer," Cid said, putting an edge of a leader's tone into his voice now. "Take them to Instructor Trepe. I have already informed her that they will be arriving within five minutes."

Seifer growled but dragged Reneey by her arm toward the elevator. Lyn followed quickly, growling, "You tear her arm off and I'm gonna tear off something of yours that you'll miss a lot more than an arm."


	3. Weapon Shopping

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N:

---

**3. – Weapon Shopping**

"So what happened?" Reneey whispered to Lyn as they walked down the corridor, following Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin.

"Not much," Lyn responded in a low voice. "I told him the truth and he believed me. He kept saying it was 'intriguing' but he had this weird look on his face. I dunno, maybe it just scared him that I know everything that's going to happen."

"That's it?"

"Well, he kept asking questions. Sounded really interested in our world. Then he asked if I knew anything about fighting, I told him I'm trained in Isshinryu, and next thing I know, we're signed up for military school."

"Military school?!" Reneey hissed.

"What did you think this was, a ballet studio?" Lyn asked, rolling her eyes. "But hey, there is good news. We get our own dorm so we don't have random roommates we don't know."

"Hello," a woman's voice with an Irish accent cut into their conversation. A blonde woman a little older than Lyn smiled at them from the doorway of a classroom. "I am Quistis Trepe. You must be my new students."

"Yeah, I guess so," Lyn said with a shrug. Was it possible to be drafted into a military school? She would have to look that up later. "I'm Lyn and this is Reneey."

"I can say my own name, bitch," Reneey snapped good-naturedly.

Quistis frowned. "While it isn't against the school rules to curse, I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing so while under my training."

Reneey looked at Lyn, who translated, "Don't cuss at the teacher."

"Wow, you're a teacher?" Reneey asked, blinking. "What are you, Lynni's age?"

"My age is unimportant," Quistis said firmly. "And you will please call me 'Instructor Trepe.'"

"Yes, ma'am, miss instructor, ma'am!" Reneey said with a mock salute. Quistis must not have caught the sarcasm because she nodded and said, "Alright. Well, firstly – what are your preferred weapons?"

Lyn shrugged. "I'm trained in emptyhand, bo, tonfa, and sai. Take your pick."

"I'm not sure we have any staffs in the weapons locker tall enough for you," Quistis said slowly as she looked Lyn up and down. "What are you, 5'8"?"

"Thereabouts," Lyn said with a faint smile, avoiding owning up to an extra inch. She already felt like a giant around all these people of normal heights.

"Well, why don't we head down to the training center? There's a weapons locker hidden behind a wall in the hallway. We'll see what we can find. What about you?" Quistis addressed Reneey this time.

"She doesn't actually have any previous training," Lyn said with an awkward sort of smile. "Maybe something simple like a bo. I can help her learn how to use it and well, even you should be able to figure out how to hit people with a big stick," she concluded with a smirk at Reneey.

"Shut up," Reneey pouted.

Quistis smiled. "Alright, then; we'll see what we can find."

Lyn was less than impressed by the weapons locker because it consisted mostly of weapons for much shorter people. This made sense though as the new recruits were generally much younger. There weren't a lot of 5'9" eleven-year-olds, after all.

Reneey, however, was only around five feet tall so she was much easier outfitted. The locker gifted her with a strong but light five-and-a-half foot staff. It was currently black with silver carvings of stars and swirls but Lyn wasn't sure it would stay that way very long if Reneey got her hands on any pink spray paint.

"It looks like we'll have to go to the city to find something for you," Quistis said apologetically when the locker turned out nothing for Lyn. "Even your hands are too big for any of the fighters' gloves we have here."

"I can fight bare-hand," Lyn offered.

"No, no – I won't hear of it," Quistis said, shaking her head. "Anyway, once you're fighting real monsters for the kill, you may need the extra attacking power."

"… What kind of monsters are we talking about, here?" Reneey asked slowly.

"You'll see a few varieties inside the training center," Quistis assured her. "But first, I think we should get a car and head to Balamb. I don't want Lyn to have to unprepared."

Lyn's eyes lit up at that, filling them with mischievous green fire. "Can I drive?"

---

"I think I'll drive on the way back," Quistis said with a sweatdrop as they got out of the car at the Balamb garage.

"Why?!" Lyn complained but surrendered the key without a fight.

"You were driving at twice the speed limit!" Quistis fumed.

"Hey, I'm an excellent driver!" Lyn objected. "… I just like to get places on time is all."

"On time for what, our funerals?" Quistis grumbled.

"Hey, Instructor Trepe!" a voice called. They looked up to see a blond boy in a Balamb Garden trainee uniform grinning down at them from a light post above their heads. "I don't see you in town much."

"Oh, hello, Zell," Quistis said with a smile. "Reneey, Lyn, this is Zell Dincht. He'll be in your class when you start on Monday."

Reneey grinned. "Awesome tattoo."

"Thanks," Zell said, his grin broadening. "Nice hair spray."

Reneey giggled, setting the multicolored, sprayed-on streaks in her hair to dancing in the sunlight.

"So what're you doing here?" Zell asked, jumping down from the light post and landing on his feet.

"Searching for a weapon for Lyn," Quistis answered. "Or at least a good pair of gloves."

"I have an old pair you might be able to wear," Zell offered.

Lyn laughed. "I doubt that. Hold out your hand."

Zell obliged and Lyn matched her palm to his; her hands were nearly an inch longer than his.

"Everybody in my generation of my family had a random growth spurt," Lyn explained, chuckling. "I'm actually the shortest; my cousins are 6'3", 6'1", and 6'6"."

"Damn!" Zell breathed, shaking his head. "I'm barely 5'5"! You make me feel short."

"Eh, as long as you're taller than Reneey, you're not short," Lyn said with a smirk, playfully shoving her friend in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Reneey complained. "Just because I'm not a giant like you doesn't mean you get to pick on me!"

"Aw, face it, you're a shrimp!"

"And you're… you're… an octopus!" Reneey declared.

Lyn blinked. "I have eight arms?"

Zell doubled over laughing and even Quistis hid a smile behind her hand.

"Goddamn it, you two are hilarious!" Zell managed to choke out. "What, are you sisters or something?"

"Nah, just known each other for three or four years," Lyn said, shrugging. "After a while, I guess we bicker like sisters."

"Well, we're burning daylight," Quistis pointed out. "You two need to be in your rooms before curfew so we should get to the weapons shop."

"Oh, yeah, it's over here," Zell said, walking in that direction. "I think they just got a new shipment in, so you should have a pretty good selection."

In the end, Lyn left with a pair of black gloves that reached halfway to her elbows with silver plates on the knuckles and around the edge of the glove like a bracer as well as a pair of thin, light silver sai with purple and yellow wrapping on the grips. Quistis paid for all of it, saying the Garden always paid for recruits' initial equipment.

"Now I can teach you bo-sai kumite," Lyn told Reneey with a grin. "Just a tip, though – sai win."

"So you can fight with just your hands too?" Zell asked, raising an eyebrow. "How good are you?"

"After a year of training, I could hold my own against my sensei," Lyn said with a chuckle. "He says I'm a natural fighter and natural fighters who are trained are the toughest to beat."

"Cool," Zell said, nodding and looking impressed. "So y'all heading back to Garden now?"

Quistis nodded. "I would like to make a skill assessment in the training center before it closes."

"Aw, well that's not for a few more hours," Zell said, shrugging it off. "Why don't y'all come to my house and grab some eats? My mom's making hot dogs!"

"No, we shouldn't impose," Quistis said with a smile. "But thank you very much for the offer."

"Yeah, no prob! Just take me up on it next time, would ya?"

Quistis chuckled. "Perhaps. Come along, girls; the headmaster will be expecting a report in the morning."

"Ew, reports," Reneey said, making a face. "You make it sound like we're lab rats."

"Sometimes I get the feeling we are kinda like rats running through a maze and looking for cheese," Lyn mused as they walked back to the car. "I mean, how else do you explain us ending up here…?"


	4. Reneey Trains?

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N:

---

**4. – Reneey Trains?**

"It's much more interesting when Lynni drives," Reneey commented as they got out of the car.

"If by 'interesting' you mean 'death-defying,' I would have to agree," Quistis said with a chuckle.

"Hey, I'm a perfectly –"

"Good driver; yes, you've said," Quistis interrupted, still smiling. "Come on, let's get to the training center."

"I _am_ kinda itching to try these out," Lyn agreed, twirling the sai around her hands. "They're lighter than I'm used to but they feel stronger, too."

"Good weaponsmiths are hard to find but we do have an excellent one," Quistis agreed.

"Um, y'all do remember that I don't know how to fight, right?" Reneey pointed out.

"I ain't gonna let nothing kill you," Lyn said, rolling her eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't trust monsters."

Quistis smiled. "They're dangerous, yes, but not very smart. You'll do fine. And if you don't feel confident enough or feel that you're in over our head, just ask me or Lyn to step in."

Instantly, Reneey said, "Lyn, will you step in?"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "You have to at least try!"

"But I don't know how to fight!"

"Look, you're not gonna get hurt," Lyn said with a sigh. "She just needs to see what kind of talent you have so she knows how to train you."

"You're very intuitive," Quistis observed.

Lyn shrugged. "I did the same thing when I taught people to spar in tournaments."

"Ah, then very experienced," Quistis corrected.

"Eh, I'm alright, I guess," Lyn said. "I won my fair share of trophies."

Quistis frowned. "If you don't mind me asking… If you had a home and cousins and won trophies in tournaments… How did you end up here? The headmaster just said that you two were orphans and had nowhere else to go."

"It's kind of a long story," Lyn said slowly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Quistis apologized, suspecting it was something she didn't want to talk about. "I probably shouldn't have asked."

"No, feel free to ask the headmaster," Lyn said. "I'm just not sure if he would want me to say. He'll tell you if he thinks it's okay, though."

"Mm," was all Quistis said but they came into the training center then anyway so it didn't matter much.

"So what exactly do I do?" Reneey asked, looking uncertain.

Lyn rolled her eyes. "You hit it with the stick. It's not that hard." She looked at Quistis. "Do we have time for me to teach her a few basic strikes before we get started?"

"By all means," Quistis said with a raised eyebrow, taking a step back. This would be a good gauge of Lyn's ability, too.

And so Lyn proceeded to teach Reneey a sliding thrust gouge, forward thrust, up strike, down strike, and whack her friend upside the head repeatedly for laughing at the word 'thrust.' Quistis watched curiously, a little surprised by how knowledgeable this new recruit seemed. It wasn't often that there was a student who could teach Quistis something but this just might have been one of those occasions.

"Alright," Quistis said at last. "We'll go looking for some low-level monsters for you two. But if we run into a large dinosaur, I want you both to stand down. You're not ready for that yet."

Reneey agreed quickly, suddenly hoping that there would be lots of dinosaurs running around. Lyn simply nodded her agreeance; she didn't have any sleep magic or anything to junction it with anyway so it would be pointless to disagree.

Fortunately, only a few feet in, a couple of Grats attacked from behind a tree so there was no need to go walking around looking for an enemy. Well, Reneey was somewhat disappointed – and more than a little nervous, though of course she wouldn't admit that.

"Ew! What the heck is this thing?!" Reneey demanded.

"It's a Grat," Quistis informed her. "Don't worry, it's a low-level monster; you can take it."

"Don't freeze up," Lyn counseled as she shot forward, dodging Grat feelers and stabbing the longest point of each sai into the creature before dashing to the side to avoid a crushing blow.

"Y-yeah," Reneey said slowly, then yelped as the other Grat lashed out at her and started swinging the bo erratically. She did succeed in knocking its feelers out of the way but also in nearly clubbing Lyn in the head as the older girl dodged in that direction.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing – it's not a baseball bat!" Lyn hissed as she pinned two of the Grat's feelers to the ground with one sai and stabbed with the other.

Finally, after defeating her own Grat, Lyn had to help Reneey with the second one while trying to dodge the random swings of the staff. Reneey did get in a few good hits but in general she merely swung the weapon and hoped it hit home and not her friend.

Quistis watched all of this with the eye of an evaluation. Lyn hadn't been lying; she had been trained well and she did have a natural ability to fight. Quistis hadn't seen many first-time fights like this one. In fact, the first time most girls fought a monster for the kill, they screamed or fainted or freaked out like Reneey had. She was definitely impressed with Lyn's performance. With a little instruction on guardian forces, she might even be ready for the graduation exam later that month.

The other girl, though…

It wasn't necessarily that Reneey didn't have the aptitude or even the ability to fight. Quistis was certain that, with the proper training, the girl could be a formidable fighter. The problem seemed to be the will to do so, and she wasn't certain the fifteen-year-old had that yet.

"Impressive," Quistis said with a nod and a smile. "Very impressive. Alright, it's nearly curfew so let me show you to your rooms. You remember where my classroom is, correct? You will be expected there at 9 am on Monday."

"Got it," Lyn said, nodding.

Reneey blinked. "9 am? Damn! I had to be there at 7 at my old school!"

"And curfew is at 9 pm," Quistis added.

"… Yeah… I can't go to bed at 9 pm," Reneey said slowly.

"You don't have to go to bed; just be either in your room or in the training center. Everywhere else is closed after that time."

"… My room it is," Reneey said with a sigh. "Which one is it?"

"The student dorms are this way," Quistis said, pointing down one corridor. "The two of you will be sharing a room."

"Yes, the headmaster already told me," Lyn said, nodding.

"Good," Quistis said. "Something tells me you'll be the one responsible for making sure she gets to class, then."

Lyn chuckled. "Well, that won't be anything new."

"It may be something new that I will hold you responsible if she doesn't."

Lyn groaned. "You hear that, Rea? You lay out of class and _I_ get into trouble."

"Like you ever get in trouble," Reneey said, rolling her eyes. "You're the perfect attendance straight-A student and everything."

"You should try it sometime," Lyn shot back.

"This is your room," Quistis interrupted, pointing. "Can you remember the number?"

"I will," Lyn said with a chuckle. "I'll just have to not let Reneey go anywhere by herself for a few months until she can remember it."

"Months?" Reneey asked, snickering. "Try years."


	5. The Proper Motivation

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N:

---

**5. – The Proper Motivation**

"So… just to make sure I'm not totally crazy… we're in your game, right?" Reneey asked as she flopped down on one of the two beds in their dorm.

"Yup," Lyn said simply as she did the same on the other bed.

"So you know everything that's gonna happen?"

"Yup."

"… So… does Zell get a girlfriend?"

Lyn snickered until she had to smother the sound with her pillow before she could speak again. "Trust you to be concerned about a guy and not a possible world-ending cataclysm!"

"Well, does he?"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "No. He's in general more interested in cussing and preventing the downfall of the entire world. Which, just FYI, you _might_ want to be a little concerned about too."

Reneey rolled her eyes too. "I curse plenty, thanks, bitch."

Lyn twitched. "I meant the preventing the downfall of the world bit."

"Eh… somebody else can do that," Reneey said, shrugging.

"And you'll what? Chase guys and paint things pink?"

"Ooh! That reminds me, this bed is so plain – do you know where I could get any pink spray paint?!"

Lyn groaned and did a faceplant into the pillow. Next on her to do list: figure out how to keep Reneey from getting herself killed. More work for the weary, she guessed.

When she started hearing fabric ripping, she just pulled the pillow tight around her ears to block out the sound. God only knew how Reneey planned on 'remodeling' her side of the room, but the first sign of anything pink and Lyn's half and there might be more than one world-ending cataclysm to be dealt with.

---

"Alright," Lyn said with a determined look as she grabbed a short wooden bo from the weapons locker before leading Reneey into the training center. And Reneey went because she knew there was no arguing with that look. It was the same one Lyn had worn when she had dragged Reneey out of bed at 9 AM, when she had dragged her to the cafeteria, and when she had made her eat 'a high protein breakfast.' Apparently 'protein' meant 'cardboard' here. Reneey still shuddered at the thought.

"You know I don't wanna do this," Reneey complained. Lyn could be such a slave driver sometimes.

"I know," Lyn said, nodding. "And I also know you'll only half do anything if you don't want to do it. Which is why I brought him."

Reneey's gaze followed Lyn's pointing finger to see the blond guy from yesterday, Zell, finishing off a round of some kind of jump kicks on the other side of the training center. Wearing just a pair of baggy jean shorts that showed off a tattoo on his ribs to match the one on his face.

"'Bout time you guys showed up!" Zell called as he noticed them, running across the floor to meet them. "I've been waiting for an hour or something!"

"Like you wouldn't have been here anyway," Lyn said, rolling her eyes.

Zell blinked. "Well, yeah, probably. How'd you know?"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "It isn't self-explanatory after that little chin-ups on the light pole thing yesterday?"

Zell grinned. "I guess. So you're the girl who needs to know how to fight?" he asked, turning his attention to Reneey, who nodded.

"Yeah. I've never tried to fight anything at all before until last night. I think I might need loads of help."

Lyn kicked her foot and gave her a look that meant, 'Obvious much?' Reneey just kept grinning at Zell though and Zell seemed oblivious as he started talking about which style Reneey's body type would be best for and then abruptly picking her up to check how much she weighed, which made her squeal and laugh.

Okay, so Lyn could also be a genius at motivating people. And Reneey hated her best friend for making her work… but this might just be worth it.

---

"All in all, Lyn is an exceptional recruit – I might even consider her possible of taking the upcoming exam – but Reneey will need much more focus and commitment before she's ready for that," Quistis concluded her report by telling the headmaster. She had a clipboard in her hands on which she had scribbled a few notes; it miffed her a little that Cid was just sitting with his hands folded, listening, and not taking any notes of his own. She _had_ put a lot of work into this.

"Do they seem to be… stable?" Cid asked slowly, seeming as if he wanted to ask another question but didn't know how to phrase it.

Quistis blinked in surprise. "Stable? How so?"

"Mentally. Are they suitable candidates for SeeD?"

Quistis frowned. "As stable as any seventeen- and fifteen-year-old. Why do you ask?"

Cid sighed. "Most children here have much longer to get used to the idea of what SeeD does than they will have."

"Lyn doesn't have to take the exam next month," Quistis said quickly. "It was merely an evaluation that her skill levels are already nearly there."

"No, she will," Cid said quietly, standing up and fixing Quistis with a weary sort of look. "I would like you to please work with each of them as much as you can. If they are not prepared, get them there."

"Of course, sir," Quistis said, trying not to let her confusion show about why he would tell her this. It was her job, after all.

"As soon as possible," Cid emphasized. Turning to look out the window, he concluded, "I would like both of them to take the exam next month."

Quistis looked startled. "Both of them? Sir, Lyn might be ready for that, but Reneey with less than a month of training could be dangerous, both to herself and others, in an exam of that magnitude."

"I know," Cid said quietly and he seemed almost regretful as he spoke – definitely very knowledgeable of the possible repercussions of what he was asking. "If you still feel that Reneey is hopeless by the week before the exam, we will hold her back, but please give it your best."

Quistis was silent for a moment before nodding. "Of course, sir."

Cid closed his eyes and added in a quiet voice that almost made it seem as if he was talking to himself, "They of all people should be ready to face the storm that's coming."

Quistis found herself too busy trying to figure out the tone in his voice to puzzle over the meaning behind his words.


	6. The Obligatory Time Skip

Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy VIII/8 or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N:

---

**6. – The Obligatory Time Skip**

"Alright… three… two… one… go!" Quistis ordered, blowing a whistle.

"After you," Lyn said with a grin and a twirl of the sai in her left hand.

Reneey was actually wearing a semi-serious look as she made a lunge with her bo at Lyn which the older girl easily parried. From there it turned into what seemed to Reneey like a badly choreographed dance. Lyn attacked with her other sai which Reneey twisted the bo to block but then Lyn pulled back and came at her with both sai in an attack that Reneey had a hard time seeing in time, much less blocking…

In the end, the match lasted about thirty seconds before Lyn knocked the bo out of Reneey's hands and had the tip of a sai at her throat. However, this was at least twenty-nine seconds longer than Reneey would have lasted a week before, so it was a definite improvement.

"Impressive," Quistis said with a smile, nodding at both fighters as Reneey retrieved her fallen staff. "Very impressive, particularly when one considers you've only been here for three weeks."

"Of course, since I trained her," Zell said with a gloating smirk.

"That's true, chicken-wuss," Seifer commented from the sidelines. "I guess that means we should all consider it a miracle she isn't more screwed up than before."

Naturally, at that comment, both Zell and Lyn bristled and Quistis put a hand on each of their shoulders before announcing, "Alright, this training session is over. I will be delivering my final progress reports for this class to the headmaster this afternoon.

"This does not mean you stop coming to class!" she emphasized, getting that penetrating, halfway threatening look as her eyes swept the training center. "It only means that whomever I recommend as ready will be eligible to complete the requirements for and participate in the SeeD exam next week."

In response, there were a lot of excited murmurs as well as a couple of whoops and one muttering of, "Whatever." Apparently you could always count on Squall still being Squall.

---

When Quistis walked into the headmaster's office with her end-of-the-semester reports, she already knew which students he would be most interested in. Of course, being an instructor, she couldn't be partial, so she went through the normal class listing anyway from Almasy to Tilmitt. Then at the very end of the class roll were two names written in her own handwriting because they had been added only last week – the two names Cid was most concerned about anyway.

"Essentially, Fayette is the only student I would not recommend personally for this exam," Quistis stated before taking a deep breath and continuing, "As for the newcomers, Lyn has only exceeded my expectations the more I have seen her fight and train. She is exceptionally gifted with tactical ability, has excellent problem-solving skills, and…" Quistis chuckled. "Well, she definitely knows how to motivate Reneey. She would make an excellent commander and I am also recommending that she be appointed a squad captain at the exam in order to best evaluate this leadership potential."

Cid seemed to be waiting for something and when she did not continue, he prompted, "And Reneey?"

"Reneey is, as I said before, somewhat under motivated," Quistis said slowly. "However, she has improved greatly under the coaching of Lyn and Zell Dincht. Today she lasted thirty-eight seconds in a sparring match against Lyn."

"Thirty-eight seconds?" Cid repeated, sounding unimpressed.

Quistis smiled. "That's a pretty impressive number. Raijin only lasted sixty-two and he's been training for five years. Lyn has quite a bit of training against bo staffs and no one else in Garden fights with sai. No one quite knows what to expect from her. She and Zell have made Reneey quite unpredictable, as well."

Cid paused a moment before breathing a sigh and asking, "And your evaluation?"

"Under ordinary circumstances, I would like to keep Reneey back until next year, when she has had more formal training," Quistis admitted. "But I do not feel it would be dangerous for her to participate in the examination. She has a good basic foundation of how to use her weapon and it has been tested in battle. All that she truly lacks are experience and perhaps a little more forethought before she acts."

Cid's eyes lit up and he looked truly pleased. "Is that your honest evaluation? Not colored by my desire for both of them to test?"

"I see no danger in allowing both of them to take the exam," Quistis said with a nod. Of course, that didn't mean she expected both of them to _pass_ but she didn't have to say that out loud in front of the headmaster.

"Good," Cid said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was hoping you would agree."

Quistis paused. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking… Why are these girls so special? Who are they?"

Cid bit his lip. "In the end, I think that is for them to decide."

Quistis blinked. "Sir? What do you mean by that?"

"Their pasts give them great potential," Cid said slowly. "Unfortunately, that potential is not restricted only to us. They could choose to fight against us if they desired. And that could be an incredibly dangerous thing for us all."

"But doesn't everyone, sir? I admit that Lyn is a gifted fighter and that Reneey could be a formidable combatant with more experience, but are they really so different from any other student who has trained here?"

"No, of course not," Cid said reassuringly but Quistis couldn't help but think there was something guarded, almost deceptive, about his smile. "I merely wish to give them the opportunity."

Quistis paused. "Are you saying I should give the same opportunity to Hector Fayette as well, assuming he would not likely get himself killed in the SeeD exam?"

Cid was looking at the ceiling and not at Quistis as he responded in a quiet voice, "Everyone deserves a chance to become whomever they are meant to be…"

Though she wasn't honestly sure whether Cid was talking about Fayette or not, Quistis carefully scribbled out the exception notice next to his name on the roster. Well, whatever else this might mean for the SeeD exams this year, there were going to be a lot of squads on notice.


End file.
